The Tucson Theatre Announcements List is a monitored e-mail list. Notices from Tucson area theatre companies, filmmakers and others are forwarded to the list members. These notices include auditions, casting calls, openings and other announcements of interest to actors, directors, techies and theatre lovers in our community. This Blog contains an archive of recent posts to the list. For more information go to http://tucsonstage.com

For decades, newspaper columnist Ann Landers dispensed wit and wisdom to millions of Americans in need of advice. In THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS, Landers finds herself writing a column about a new kind of heartbreak-- her own. Drawn from Landers' life and letters, this show is a touching and comic portrait of a wise, funny, no-nonsense woman who is one of the most influential figures in America. Through her sometimes controversial opinions, she shaped the way Americans viewed everything from war and politics; marriage, divorce and sexuality, to the proper way to hang a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom.

Presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.

IFA's next meeting, Networking in the Film Industry, will be held on the second Tuesday, July 12th at 7pm atConnect Coworking, 33 S 5th Ave, Tucson, AZ (Normally IFA meetings are on the first Tuesday, but for July, it will be the second.)

Crown Chimp Filmswill be our featured guests to share best practices on presenting yourself and your ideas while networking in the film industry. They will cover your approach to presenting yourself in person, to pitching, to building your online platforms.

A speed networking session will follow with 5 members of Crown Chimp present, along with representatives from three other production companies, to practice and receive guidance and feedback on your communication and networking. And for any enthusiastic networkers, there will be more opportunities to talk to the production companies after the meeting.

If anyone has any questions they would like to submit for the discussion with Crown Chimp, please fill out the form below and send them to us.

Three Winning Scripts, Three Winning Playwrights, Three World Premieres

Nine Reasons To Support The Arts Locally

Tucson, AZ: The Community Players, Tucson's premier community theatre company, announced the 3 winners in their First Annual New One Act Play Festival several weeks ago. Since then, preparations have been underway for the world premieres of these never before published, never produced, one act playswritten by Arizona playwrights. The three winning playwrights just happen to all be from Tucson. Vince Flynn,Leslie Powell and Gavin Kayner were the three playwrights whose work rose to the top of all the submissions received by The Community Players during the submission period. The plays were then scored on four criteria; plot, character development, dialogue and overall writing quality. The panel of independent judges had a tough job when everything was said and done. "The level of quality writing and expertise in their craft was evident to the judges from the first submission to the last," said Scott Berg, board president for TCP, "It wasn't until the lasts score sheet had been tallied that we could make the announcement of the winners with confidence," added Bobbi Whitson, board vice president. Berg cited the lack of opportunities for local playwrights to even get the chance to have their work read, let alone produced and given a spot in a theatre companies season line up, were the driving force behind developing this contest. "After all," said Berg, "if it weren't for the playwrights, the theatrewould be a completely different animal."

Berg is hopeful that the efforts of The Community Players will act as a catalyst to affect some change in the Tucson community. "It has always seemed odd to me, that in a community where there is such a strong emphasis on "buying local,eating local, supporting local", the same consideration is not offered as readily to the theatre community," Berg states. "Oh sure, people go to see theatre in Tucson, especially when the playwright is someone like Simon, or Rogers and Hammerstein, or Williams, but when you say it's a local playwright, you can see people pull back, stutter a bit and start making excuses."Berg makes the point, that although these writers live here, many of them enter play writing competitions all over the country, and many of them have won those competitions or awards for their writing. Many of the local playwrights have had their plays published and produced by theatre companies around the country. They just haven't made it to heavy weight status as of yet. Berg offers this bit of food for thought, "Mark my words, one day, in the not so distant future, you are goingto see a headline like this, "Local Playwright Takes Broadway By Storm". And then all of those people who poo-pooed the fact that it was a local writer are going to be complaining that they missed seeing that "new show on Broadway" for just $10. It's like I keep telling people, at one point, even Shakespeare was "just a local writer"."

The First Annual New One Act Play Festival is running July 8-17, 2016 at The Community Playhouse, the home of The Community Players, 1881 N. Oracle Rd., Tucson, 85705. For reservations please call 520-887-6239. The audiencewill get to see all three one act plays in an evening. For those interested, an informal meet and greet will takeplace after each of the Saturday night performances. Drinks and finger foods will be served so everyone is encouraged and welcome to stay and meet the playwrights, the cast and enjoy the wonderful theatre spacewith your friends. The Community Players is dedicated to bringing theatre and the arts to the community whetherit be by sponsoring a contest for local playwrights or by holding open auditions for almost every production to allowing other theatre companies to utilize their space which helps bring more of the arts to the community. TCP is a registered 501c3 with the State of Arizona whose main source of funding is through ticket sales, an occasional grant and private donations. In an effort to make theatre affordable to the community as a whole, the TCP board voted 2 years ago to lower their ticket price to $10 per seat, per show. Submissions for The Second Annual New One Act Play Festival are currently being accepted. Please go to www.communityplayerstucson.org for acomplete set of rules and submission instructions.

"Please support theatre arts in our community", concludes Berg, "starting with the most important people when itcomes right down to it. The people who have the imagination to think it up, the organization skills to make it into a story, the technical know how to write it down and the desire to entertain with it."

Everyone knows the classic princess stories from Once Upon a Time. You know those tales of magic, dreams, fantasy, and true love. But do those stories still hold up in today's modern world? Is there still true love and bibbity-bobbity-boos? Would they still all live happily ever after? In this tale it is "Princess meets Present" when the stories of Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and many more are given a modern twist and told once upon THIS time.

Strada Company is seeking four actors to appear in a short (44 minute) film.Cast performers will be offered a stipend for their work.

Needed:

Four actresses, twenty-two to fifty years old, please see diversity statement below.

Rose, a fiery talented performer who has strong opinions and a quick mind.

"Should be a huge hit, Jonah. Or you could just put a bunch of money in that juicer of yours and get it over with."

Lilly, an actor, very intellectual but extremely enthusiastic about ideas in repose

"This will be amazing. So many ideas. So many metaphors.Have you thought of Quixote as a woman? And hey, I'm not getting naked. In the movie or with you."

Thalia, a writer, very down to earth and would hate that cliche.

"How we tell stories is important, Jonah. Stories are our ghost. When we're gone. We're just our stories left hanging in the air."

Cora, an artist and filmmaker, deeply committed to social justice

"Let's get a drink. I'd love to hear about your movie as long as no one says anything about politics, or women, or Syria or Orlando or anything. I can't take another second of heartbreak."

About the Film

THE HUMORS

Jonah Kleinman is making a new film based loosely on Don Quixote and seeks the advice of four talented and very different women.

About Strada and Diversity

Strada Company welcomes and encourages participation by everyone. Our community is based on mutual respect, tolerance, and encouragement, and we are working to help each other live up to these principles. We want our community to be more diverse: whoever you are, and whatever your background, we welcome you.

We have created this diversity statement because we believe that a diverse arts community is stronger and more vibrant. A diverse culture where people treat each other with respect has more potential contributors and more sources for ideas. It is, in short, a better world.

Although we have phrased the formal diversity statement generically to make it all-inclusive, we recognize that there are specific attributes that are used to discriminate against people. In alphabetical order, some of these attributes include (but are not limited to): age, culture, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical or mental difference, politics, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and subculture. We welcome people regardless of the values of these or other attributes.

As diversity can often be passive, Strada Company seeks to engage, exhort, enjoin, and empower the wide and amazing array of human-created performance. Our diversity statement is not merely a policy; it is what we are.

Strada Company creates and supports art in a variety of communities and for a myriad of reasons. We are open to all.

Live at the Gaslight Theatre it'sThe Ackermann Family in Concert!

Linda, Elise, and Adam are back to present a spectacular concert of their favorite show-stopping tunes on a wide variety of instruments. From Boogie to Bluegrass, to Celtic to Classical, this show is not to be missed! Monday July 18th at 3 and 7 PM. call now 886-9428!

This Eagles concert production features all the hits! Kicking off with "Take It Easy", the concert takes you on a musical ride through The Eagles long and game-changing career! From the frenetic rock of "Life In The Fastlane", to the rich, dynamic harmonies of "Desperado". "Tequilla Sunrise" and "Lyin' Eyes". You'll hear Eagles vocals and guitar work done with authenticity and respect... Including the iconic guitar solos of "Hotel California"! The Eagles Greatest Hits (1971-1975) album was the BEST SELLING ALBUM of the 20th century in the US. This amazing tribute will remind you of the reason why!

Rogue regulars Matt Bowdren, Holly Griffith, Christopher Johnson, and Joe McGrath are in the show, but this time, they're all dancing as well as acting. And Artifact Co-founder Claire Hancock is acting as well as dancing. Five other terrific dancers from Artifact make up the cast, with choreography by the brilliant Ashley Bowman. Add Mary Turcotte's beautiful score for piano and reed instruments featuring reed specialist Derek Granger, and we have a real Jazz Age festival!

Philip G. Bennett, Artistic Director is a graduate from the renowned American Stanislavsky Theatre in New York, where he served as actor, instructor and Assistant Artistic Director to Sonia Moore, émigré actress/director from the Third Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre. Mr. Bennett founded the San Francisco Theatre Academy in 1976 and is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Hollywood DramaLogue Award.

Graduate students appear regularly in film and television, and are accepted in conservatories and repertory companies in the US and the UK.

Mr. Bennett's co-authored new textbook Experiencing Stanislavsky Today: Training and Rehearsal for the Psychophysical Actor, by Stephanie Daventry French and Philip G. Bennett; Routledge Academic Publishers, London and New York is available at Amazon.com world-wide.